Erkenbeck credits his length and familiarity with altitude for his success. He is a rising senior at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, which is situated at 5,500 feet above sea level – the same elevation as Soldier Hollow.

“The course sets up good to my eye,” said Erkenbeck, 22, of San Diego. “The course isn’t playing super-long for me. I only hit two or three drivers today. If I can hit a pitching wedge or gap wedge into [the 540-yard 11th] where other guys are hitting 5- or 6-irons, it makes it a lot easier for me.”

Vogel, 21, of Miami, started the day at even par, but wasted no time getting into red figures. Starting on the 10th, he birdied holes Nos. 11 and 13 and holed his approach for eagle at the 15th.

“The gallery threw up their hands so I knew it went in,” said Vogel of his wedge at the 420-yard par 4.

He added birdies at 16 and 18 to go out in 6-under 29. Despite his array of birdies, it was a par putt that convinced Vogel he could go low.

“I hit a short 5-foot par putt on the hole just before the eagle,” said Vogel, who won two collegiate events at the University of Florida this past season. “After that I had a feeling it was going to be a good day.”

Gooch, 20, of Midwest City, Okla., birdied his first two holes, on his way to making eight in total, during his nearly record-tying round. Danny Green shot 63 at Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove, Minn., during the first round of the 2004 APL.

“It was one of those days where everything was on,” said Gooch, a rising junior at Oklahoma State University. “I only missed one or two fairways and maybe one green. When you’re getting that many opportunities, you have a chance to shoot a score like this.”

On Monday, Gooch four-putted the 10th hole for double bogey to drop to three over for the championship, but remained confident that he could turn it around.

“Just because you’re three over through 10, it doesn’t mean the tournament is over,” said Gooch, who lost in the round of 16 in the 2011 APL. “I tend to make my birdies in bunches so I knew if I just stayed patient and hit fairways and greens, I was eventually going to make some birdies.”

Gooch finished before an early-afternoon thunderstorm suspended play for 33 minutes. When play resumed, first-round co-leader Jace Long continued his stellar play, following his opening-round 67 with a 1-under 70. He birdied two of his last three holes, including a 9-iron to six feet on the 18th, but said the course changed as the day wore on.

“Conditions were drastically different today,” said Long, 22, of Dixon, Mo. “It got brown, it got firm and the greens were rock hard. It was a good day for me overall and I’m happy to be in match play.”

The other overnight leader, Cheng-Tsung Pan, 20, of Chinese Taipei, played what he termed a “boring” round, making two birdies and two bogeys for an even-par 71. While his ball-striking was just as good as it was during Monday’s 67, he felt he let some strokes get away on the greens.

“I hit lots of fairways and lots of greens, but the putting wasn’t as sharp as yesterday,” said Pan, a rising sophomore at the University of Washington.

The 2012 U.S. Amateur Public Links is the first USGA championship held in Utah and two residents of the Beehive State will be moving on to match play. Ogden’s Zac Blair (71-69–140) and Sandy’s Dan Horner (69-71–140) were both comfortably within the top 64, along with BYU’s Justin Keiley (69-71–140).

The APL is one of 13 individual national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Michael Trostel is the curator/historian at the USGA Museum. Email him at mtrostel@usga.org.

Results

Midway, Utah – Results from the second and final round of stroke-play qualifying at the 2012 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship being played at 7,670-yard, par-71 Soldier Hollow Golf Course:

James Erkenbeck, San Diego, Calif. - 68-67--135

T. J. Vogel, Miami, Fla. - 71-65--136

Talor Gooch, Midwest City, Okla. - 72-64--136

Jace Long, Dixon, Mo. - 67-70--137

Michael Kim, Del Mar, Calif. - 69-69--138

Cheng-Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei - 67-71--138

Jordan Wetsch, St. Charles, Ill. - 69-69--138

Brett Patterson, McMinnville, Tenn. - 71-67--138

Kevin Aylwin, New Smyrna Beach, Fla. - 69-70--139

Dan Horner, Sandy, Utah - 69-71--140

Derek Ernst, Clovis, Calif. - 70-70--140

Garrett Rank, Canada - 73-67--140

Casey Fernandez, McAlester, Okla. - 72-68--140

Justin Keiley, Haiku, Hawaii - 69-71--140

Chris Williams, Moscow, Idaho - 71-69--140

Zachary Blair, Ogden, Utah - 71-69--140

Tyler Ekenberg, Apple Valley, Minn. - 70-71--141

Anton Arboleda, La Canada, Calif. - 70-71--141

Brad Schneider, Orlando, Fla. - 70-71--141

Cody McManus, Phoenix, Ariz. - 74-68--142

Carlos Rodriguez, Colombia - 71-71--142

Manav Shah, Bakersfield, Calif. - 71-71--142

Bryson Dechambeau, Clovis, Calif. - 69-73--142

Seth Reeves, Duluth, Ga. - 73-69--142

Steven Fox, Hendersonville, Tenn. - 71-71--142

Michael Blair, Canada - 72-70--142

Xander Schauffele, San Diego, Calif. - 70-73--143

Payne Gniewek, Austin, Texas - 69-74--143

Kyle Beversdorf, Plymouth, Minn. - 73-70--143

Korky Kemp, Greensboro, N.C. - 71-72--143

Greg Condon, Monte Vista, Colo. - 73-70--143

Justin Fraley, Allen, Texas - 74-69--143

Benjamin Griffin, Chapel Hill, N.C. - 72-72--144

Chelso Barrett, Keene, N.H. - 71-73--144

Tommy Ponce, Edwardsville, Ill. - 72-72--144

Chad Johnson, Plymouth, Mich. - 71-73--144

Ryan Kuroiwa, Aiea, Hawaii - 74-70--144

Grant Weaver, Wooster, Ohio - 71-73--144

Alberto Sanchez, Nogales, Ariz. - 76-68--144

Mitchell Rutledge, Creve Coeur, Mo. - 74-70--144

Scott McNeil, Philadelphia, Pa. - 73-71--144

Cody Robinson, Discovery Bay, Calif. - 73-71--144

Richard Hattori, Honolulu, Hawaii - 73-71--144

Joel Dahlenburg, Saint Augustine, Fla. - 70-75--145

Ben Geyer, Arbuckle, Calif. - 72-73--145

Sam Horsfield, Davenport, Fla. - 73-72--145

Thomas O'Bryan, Aurora, Ill. - 73-72--145

Paul McConnell, Garland, Texas - 70-75--145

Byron Meth, San Diego, Calif. - 72-73--145

Alex Williams, Seattle, Wash. - 72-73--145

Ryan Werre, Canada - 73-72--145

Tyler Klava, Pace, Fla. - 73-72--145

Zach Fullerton, Albuquerque, N.M. - 71-74--145

Kirby Pettitt, Carroll, Iowa - 72-73--145

Jacob Knapp, Costa Mesa, Calif. - 74-72--146

Jack Teal, Excelsior, Minn. - 72-74--146

Joseph Prince, San Diego, Calif. - 74-72--146

Victor Kyatt, Hoover, Ala. - 72-74--146

Shane Smith, Godfrey, Ill. - 73-73--146

Wes Hillen, Columbia, Ill. - 72-74--146

Aaron West, Woodland Hills, Calif. - 74-72--146

Sam Saunders, Albuquerque, N.M. - 75-71--146

Paul Misko, Thousand Oaks, Calif. - 73-73--146

Alex Edfort, Somerset, N.J. - 77-69--146

Failed to Qualify:

Kyle Westmoreland, Katy, Texas - 76-71--147

Chase Wilson, Zanesville, Ohio - 76-71--147

Steve Tarkon, Boise, Idaho - 74-73--147

Chris Davis, Glendora, Calif. - 72-75--147

Alex Bungert, Elk Grove, Calif. - 75-72--147

Joseph Alfieri II, Lutz, Fla. - 73-74--147

John Jackopsic, West Hartford, Conn. - 75-72--147

Adam Larkin, North Bellmore, N.Y. - 71-76--147

Todd Griffin, Rock Springs, Wyo. - 77-70--147

Kevin Penner, Las Vegas, Nev. - 76-71--147

Zecheng Dou, Ppls Rep. of China - 71-76--147

Damon Salo, New Ipswich, N.H. - 76-71--147

Eric Busalacchi, Waukesha, Wis. - 72-76--148

Ty Travis, Eagle, Idaho - 73-75--148

Michael Schmitmeyer, St Marys, Ohio - 73-75--148

Reid Dean, Webberville, Mich. - 74-74--148

Philip Gieseker, Ann Arbor, Mich. - 74-74--148

Kory Webb, Knoxville, Tenn. - 73-75--148

Greg Werner, Farmington, Minn. - 76-72--148

Mitchell McLeroy, Mansfield, Texas - 75-73--148

Andrej Bevins, Elk Grove, Calif. - 72-76--148

Joseph Barr, Versailles, Ky. - 75-73--148

Cheyne Kendall, Deer Park, Texas - 75-73--148

Sepp Straka, Valdosta, Ga. - 75-74--149

Aaron Moreno, Gilbert, Ariz. - 75-74--149

Yi-Hsiu Luo, Chinese Taipei - 75-74--149

Sam Stark, Hartland, Mich. - 76-73--149

Andrew Lawson, Dallas, Texas - 77-72--149

Herbie Aikens, Pembroke, Mass. - 76-74--150

Adam Loran, San Jose, Calif. - 73-77--150

Johnny Ruiz, Camarillo, Calif. - 76-74--150

Nick Drost, Cottonwood Heights, Utah - 76-74--150

Trent Karlik, Pittsburgh, Pa. - 75-75--150

Kyeton Littel-Kamimoto, Kahului, Hawaii - 77-73--150

Michael Gellerman, Sterling, Kan. - 71-80--151

Carter Pool, San Diego, Calif. - 76-75--151

Brennan Amirkhizi, Newport Beach, Calif. - 78-73--151

Adam Tebbs, Las Vegas, Nev. - 75-76--151

Dalen Yamauchi, Hilo, Hawaii - 78-73--151

Casey Pyne, Bloomington, Ill. - 74-77--151

Anthony Degol, Hollidaysburg, Pa. - 76-75--151

Tyler Simpson, Portland, Ore. - 75-76--151

Bryan Ratterman, Louisville, Ky. - 74-77--151

Bryan Lichimo, Canada - 73-78--151

Bo Sarratt, Gentry, Ark. - 77-74--151

Joel Driver, Oklahoma City, Okla. - 75-76--151

Sean Elliott, Bayonne, N.J. - 75-77--152

Sangsoo Lee, Ridgefield, N.J. - 77-75--152

Daniel Charen, Langhorne, Pa. - 78-74--152

Jack Radley, Sanford, N.C. - 77-75--152

Jooho Lee, Canada - 77-75--152

Scott Kim, Corvallis, Ore. - 77-75--152

James Van Fleet, McHenry, Ill. - 76-76--152

Paul Blanche, Anchorage, Alaska - 78-75--153

Aaron Klimchuk, White Plains, N.Y. - 79-74--153

Matt Schneider, Grand Rapids, Minn. - 76-77--153

Brodie Williams, Lapel, Ind. - 78-75--153

Cory Sciupider, Etowah, N.C. - 81-72--153

Bob Cavanagh, Perham, Minn. - 79-74--153

Steve Ross, Huntington, W.Va. - 77-76--153

Logan Holt, Dublin, Ohio - 81-72--153

Collin Engelhardt, Orlando, Fla. - 74-80--154

Alexander Chiarella, Pukalani, Hawaii - 80-74--154

Sean Packer, Seattle, Wash. - 80-74--154

Mike Vanier, Lincoln, Neb. - 78-76--154

Dylan Crowley, Glen Cove, N.Y. - 79-75--154

Jon Veneziano, Mt Dora, Fla. - 77-78--155

Matthew Porter, Cortland, N.Y. - 75-80--155

John Wegmann, Southwest Ranches, Fla. - 74-81--155

Eric Fitzsimmons, Las Vegas, Nev. - 75-80--155

Steve Groom, Raytown, Mo. - 79-76--155

Jay Tilton, Cincinnati, Ohio - 80-76--156

Mark Cusic, California, Md. - 81-76--157

Nick Robles, Crystal Lake, Ill. - 79-78--157

Alex McMahon, Oro Valley, Ariz. - 83-74--157

Ryan Kohler, Alstead, N.H. - 78-80--158

Taisei Negishi, Hilo, Hawaii - 81-77--158

John Moheyer, Baltimore, Md. - 77-82--159

Keith Buntrock, Franklin, Wis. - 81-78--159

Chris Waters, Athens, Ga. - 80-80--160

Ben Kern, Algona, Iowa - 78-82--160

Spencer Williams, Great Falls, Mont. - 81-80--161

Brian Bilodeau, Auburn, Maine - 81-80--161

Chris Coleman, Dayton, Ohio - 86-75--161

Kevin Ruby, Temecula, Calif. - 82-82--164

Jake Miller, Woodbury, Minn. - 83-82--165

Chris Long, Garretson, S.D. - 82-83--165

Marais Lombard, South Africa - 89-77--166

Sean Thomas, Arvada, Colo. - 83-85--168

Ted Moehrke, Vacaville, Calif. - 86-84--170

Kevin Boie, Beaverton, Ore. - 87-86--173

J. T. Timmons, Salt Lake City, Utah - 74-DQ--DQ

Midway, Utah – Pairings and starting times for the first round of match play at the 2012 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship being played at 7,670-yard, par-71 Soldier Hollow Golf Course. (All times MDT):

The USGA and Chevron have committed to using the game of golf to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines.
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